Former Vice President Joe Biden seems to be considering a run for president in 2020.
He has expressed regret for not running in 2016 – a decision that was in based in part on his son’s tragic death to brain cancer in 2015. Biden told CNN that he “had planned” to run in 2016 and is confident that he “could have won.”
Biden has been vague in his answers to talk show hosts’ questions about running in 2020, saying he is “not committing not to run.”
Although his intentions are unclear, one thing is certain: he does not want Trump to get a second term.
“Biden sees an argument for a candidacy for which he is the only answer,” reports Politico, “an elder statesman who can help repair the damage and divisions in the country and around the world, unite the competing wings of the Democratic Party, and appeal to traditional Democratic voters who fled last year for Trump.”
According to rumors, California Senator Kamala Harris is the most likely pick for running mate.
The biggest worry about a Biden candidacy is his age. Biden will be 77 in 2020, second only to Bernie Sanders as the oldest candidate in the field.
Other are nervous about putting the future of the party into the hands of a former two-term vice president.
For now, the former VP is focused on his upcoming book tour, which begins next week. The tour will take him through at least eight states, and it is deliberately structured to avoid politics.
Biden is also heavily committed to getting other Democrats elected. Twelve of the 14 candidates he backed in Tuesday’s election won, including Danica Roem, the transgender candidate who won a seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates.
Biden is planning to spend the first few months of 2018 focused on fundraising for current Congressmen and potential candidates.
According to a personal friend of Biden’s, the former VP is “out working furiously to support and promote Democrats at all levels because he believes the future of the party is bright.”
Biden’s PAC (American Possibilities), which was launched in May, expects to have raised between $500,000 and $1 million by the end of 2017. The group has already donated to the campaigns of more than 10 Democrats running for state-level positions.
Biden’s appeal as party leader has certainly increased since January. The former VP receives at least five requests every week for endorsements or events. More than a few former Clinton and Obama donors have reached out with interest.
“If someone emerges that the former VP believes can beat [Trump], I think he is at peace with that,” said one potential donor. “On the other hand, if that person doesn’t exist or doesn’t run, you can expect Joe Biden to take a very serious look.”
Editor’s note: This would be good for Trump. Right now nobody seems to remember Biden’s buffoonery. We will remind them.